VIRUNDHOMBAL

Today we are going to see a simple and nutritious Black Chickpeas Salad, perfect as a wholesome meal! Black chickpeas (kala chana) are packed with protein, fiber, iron, and antioxidants, making this salad both tasty and highly nourishing. We combine fresh vegetables like cucumber, tomatoes, onions, and grated carrots with perfectly cooked black chickpeas, seasoned with pepper powder, green chillies, and fresh lemon juice. When prepared carefully, this salad becomes a complete, refreshing, and healthy meal! Important Tips for Best Results  Cook the black chickpeas until soft to ensure they are easy to digest and mix well with the vegetables. Chop onions and tomatoes finely to get a balanced texture and flavor in every bite. Add pepper powder, green chillies, and lemon juice in the right quantities to bring out the best taste without overpowering the salad. Make sure the vegetables and spices are added in correct proportions for a perfect flavor balance. Serve immediately after mixin...

Welcome to our new series featuring my beautiful cast iron vessels! During our recent trip to Madurai, we discovered the wonderful Sikandar shop, where we picked up these stunning cast iron vessels. They have an amazing variety of products, and we were impressed with the quality. In today's post, I'll show you how to make a delicious sweet potato fry using one of our new cast iron skillets - and the best part? It's made with very little oil! Sweet potatoes are a staple in our kitchen, adaptable to countless preparations like fries, sabji, and roasts. This pan-fried version is quick and delicious, seasoned with a simple mix of crushed garlic and homemade red chili flakes. Customize the spices to your taste and enjoy a flavorful side dish.  This pan-fried sweet potato recipe is one of the easiest ways to get crispy sweet potatoes without any complicated steps. Many recipes suggest parboiling or steaming the sweet potatoes first to shorten the cooking time. However, this recip...

Get ready for a burst of flavor with our Ginger Green Chilli Thokku recipe! This traditional South Indian side dish combines the spicy kick of green chilies with the aromatic warmth of ginger, creating a tangy and sweet symphony in every spoon. Perfect accompaniment for curd rice, idli, and dosa. The three main ingredients for this thokku are green chili, ginger, and tamarind. To balance the taste, we have to add a good amount of jaggery. For any thokku varieties, try to use clean and well-dried ingredients before sautéing. The ginger and green chili must be well-dried before sautéing.  In my previous post on Virundhombal, I shared a recipe for Ginger Pachadi with red chillies. For any ginger thokku or pachadi recipes, it's crucial to avoid prolonged sauteing of the ginger as it can impart a bitter taste. Adjust the quantity of green chillies to suit your preferred spice level. I also recommend against increasing the amount of fenugreek and mustard seeds as it can alter the overall...

We're excited to announce the launch of our new product, Black Urid Dal Kanji Mix, following the success of our Sathumaavu Mix. This nutritious kanji mix is perfect for a filling breakfast that will keep you energized throughout the day. How to Prepare Black Urid Dal Kanji Watch our video here to learn how to prepare delicious Black Urid Dal Kanji using our convenient mix.  You can customize the recipe to your taste by substituting regular milk for coconut milk. For sweetness, you can use palm jaggery, jaggery, or unrefined sugar. Benefits of Black Urid Dal Kanji 1. High in protein and fiber 2. Rich in antioxidants and minerals 3. Filling and energizing breakfast option Order Now To place your order, simply WhatsApp us with your details. We're looking forward to helping you start your day with a nutritious and delicious breakfast.  9150620521

As part of our daily quest for healthy eating, we've been experimenting with innovative salads that are both tasty and nutritious. Today, I'm excited to share with you a unique and mouth-watering salad recipe featuring black eyed cow peas and sweet potato. This salad is sure to become a favorite among both young and old. One of the best things about this salad is that it's incredibly easy to prepare. Black eyed cow peas require minimal soaking time and cook quickly, while sweet potatoes are also fast cooking compared to other vegetables. Feel free to customize the salad with your preferred flavorings and garnishing. The addition of pomegranate seeds adds a pop of color and a burst of juicy sweetness. Check out my other low calorie recipes here Broccoli Capsicum Sabji Carrot Capsicum Stir Fry Low calorie Black Chana Masala Sprouts and Mushroom Dal Green Moong Dal Sabji Easy Dal Soya chunks and Potato Sabji  Dal Fry  Easy Moth Dal Sabji  Tomato Dal  Zero Oil Sprou...

Karamani rice - delicious, protein rich and healthy lunch box rice with black eyed peas or cowpeas. I got fresh karamani from the market and decided to do many varieties like poriyal, sabji and rice. If you are using dried cowpeas, you need to soak for 5 hours. The ingredients list might be lengthy, but it is easy to make within 30 minutes. In this rice, fresh karamani along with rice cooked with onions, tomatoes and mild masala paste to get fluffy and delicious rice. This rice can be served with any thayir pachadi of your choice and appalam. Make this rice once and it will be your regular dish on your lunch menu. Few tips for making Karamani sadham Regular ponni boiled rice is preferred for karamani sadham because it cooks up fluffier and less sticky than other rice varieties. Soak the rice for at least 20 minutes. Soaking helps the rice to get cooked easily ensuring each grain remains distinct and absorbs the flavourful masala.   Small onions, garlic, ginger, fennel, cinnamo...

A healthy diabetic friendly kichadi recipe made with wheat rava. You can start your breakfast with a cup of this healthy kichadi as it includes carrot, green peas and beans which blend together beautifully with wheat rava. A handful of fresh green peas gives a slightly sweet taste for the kichadi.  There are two main varieties of wheat rava - medium coarse and fine coarse. Fine coarse wheat rava is my favourite for kichadi and upma dishes. Medium coarse wheat rava is perfect for sweet pongal and payasam. Both types require more time to cook when compared to regular white rava. Fine coarse wheat rava doesn't need to be roasted for this kichadi. To cook 1 cup fine coarse wheat rava you will need 3 cups of water. After preparing the kichadi you should let it stand for 15 minutes, covered and undisturbed for a perfect fluffy texture. And once you find how to cook wheat rava perfectly, you will be making it regularly for your breakfast.  Check out my other tiffin recipes here Idli ...

Pearl millet is a perfect tiffin for relaxed weekends at home. It is a better way to introduce millet-based dishes for your kids for weekend breakfast.  I like the mild flavour in the pearl millet especially in the dosas. You can smell the mild flavour while cooking the dosas. Pearl millet is called kambu in Tamil and bajra in Hindi is a gluten free whole grain. Due to its numerous health benefits, we have to include in our diet monthly twice or thrice. Kambu flour is mostly used for making instant dosas, and roti. This is a fermented dosa batter recipe and I have used whole pearl millets, rice, black urid dal and fenugreek. I soak the pearl millets along with the rice for 4 hours. Soaking the pearl millets for a longer time helps to blend them better and have perfect soft fluffy texture. You can replace black urid dal with white urid dal. This pearl millet dosa is similar to our mulu ulundhu dosa. This dosa tastes good with small onions chutney, onion garlic onion chutney and ellu...

Paruppu podi is a healthy, protein rich dish with very simple ingredients. I personally enjoy this paruppu podi with (suda suda sadham) hot rice, appalam and ghee. I wanted to post this paruppu podi for a long time, and recently got the recipe from my mom with exact measurements. As it is the fasting season now, this paruppu podi will be perfect to mix with the pacharisi sadham. Also, this is a perfect podi to send to your children who study abroad.  There are many different ways to prepare paruppu podi. We usually follow this method, and it stays good for 2 months if stored in an airtight container. To make this paruppu podi, measure all the ingredients and keep them ready to roast. I would like to share some important tips to make perfect paruppu podi.  To get the best result, ensure the dals and spices are fresh and clean. For uniform roasting, I recommend roasting all the ingredients on a medium heat.  Red chillies and peppercorns are added for the spiciness. You can ...